Help each other; help yourself.
The Colorado Symphony Orchestra’s fund-raising drive for this week has brought to mind several issues that I think need to be addressed. In previous blogs and articles, I have spoken to many of these issues, but many need to be mentioned again. The Colorado Symphony Orchestra is not the only orchestra in Denver that needs assistance. And it certainly is not the only arts organization that needs assistance. All of the community orchestras in the metropolitan area need financial assistance, and some of them need it very badly. In the sidebar of this blog site, on the left-hand side of the screen, I have listed links to several arts organizations. Take a look, and discover how many community orchestras there are in the Denver metropolitan area. The Colorado Symphony, the Colorado Springs Philharmonic, and the Boulder Philharmonic are the only professional orchestras (and they need help as well). The other orchestras are all community orchestras. I would hope that they are paying attention to the innovative way in which the Colorado Symphony is going about its fund-raising this week. There is much to learn. However the community orchestras face some unique problems.
All of the community orchestras are facing one crucial issue which is affecting their fund raising: many do not know that they exist. And of course this is not helped by a local music reviewer who proclaimed the fact that there is no alternative to the Colorado Symphony or the Boulder Philharmonic for orchestral music. That comment appeared in the Denver Post on Sunday, June 8, of last year when Kyle MacMillan wrote a supposedly informed article about the classical music scene in Denver. All of the community orchestras in the metro area should have responded loudly to that statement. Their silence confirms to many, except for those who regularly attend their own “community” orchestra, that the community orchestras need to put out the word of their existence with great vigor. These orchestras must learn to pull together to help each other. Remember, it’s just like crossing the street; there is safety in numbers. In 2007, when I was involved in orchestral administration, the Denver Foundation invited the executive directors of the community orchestras to a meeting at the Foundation office. The Foundation wisely thought community orchestras would be well served by creating a new organization comprised of all the orchestras in the Denver metro area. Thankfully, this happened and the resultant organization became known as the Denver Metropolitan Community Orchestra Association. It was a fantastic idea which unfortunately, was approached with great caution by some of the orchestras, or at least so it seemed at the time. I think part of the problem was that these orchestras thought that they were in a state of competition with the other community orchestras. Nothing could be further from the truth. For example, the people who attend the concerts given by the Aurora Symphony Orchestra would be unlikely to attend the concerts given by the Jefferson Symphony. And aren’t all of the orchestras involved in the same art of music? But I must say that these orchestras were helping each other, albeit in very small ways. It always seemed to me, and keep in mind that I am no longer in orchestral administration, that these orchestras could join together in a giant fund-raising effort. Of course, there would be all kinds of logistical details to be worked out, such as, how do you divvy up the money obtained by the fund-raising. Nonetheless, it would be worth the effort because it would draw attention to these community orchestras whose concerts go totally un-attended by some of the funding agencies in town. As a matter of fact, a former board member of a leading funding organization whom I met at a community orchestra concert, told me that this particular community orchestra was one of the best-kept secrets in Denver.
There are so many ways for these community orchestras to think “outside the box.” How does one think outside the box? A trite example might be, and mind you, I am not proselytizing this, but nonetheless a trite example: remember in your youth when you considered opening a lemonade stand on the corner? Even then, I’ll bet that you understood you would not make much money charging a nickel for a glass of lemonade. But thinking outside the box would be this: you give away the lemonade for free, and then charge five dollars for a hand of blackjack. I still think that the DMCOA would be a fantastic organization that wouldn’t even have to be limited to just orchestras. Why not invite some of the choral groups in town to join? Of course, then the pedants in the group would insist that the name be changed but it would probably be worth it. Please realize that while I say all of this, I am no longer in orchestral administration, and therefore out of touch. It could be that this is going on as I speak. But I must say, that all of the arts organizations in the Denver metro area should band together for certain projects, perhaps for a yearly fund-raising event. And it would have to be done in a very serious manner, for these are very serious times. When I say serious manner, I am not speaking of a fund-raising silent auction, or a fund-raising dinner. I am speaking of a well thought out major event. It would have to be something that draws strong attention to every organization partaking in the event. For example, perhaps through strong leadership, the DMCOA could organize a new orchestra comprised of the constituent members of the DMCOA, and perhaps even a choir, and put on a yearly fund-raising concert of some magnitude which would be guaranteed to draw a large audience. An oratorio? A Schubert Mass? A Gouvy cantata? The imagination must prevail in order to attract attention to the musical arts.
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Filed under: Commentary | Tags: community orchestra, DMCOA
The Colorado Symphony Orchestra’s fund-raising drive for this week has brought to mind several issues that I think need to be addressed. In previous blogs and articles, I have spoken to many of these issues, but many need to be mentioned again. The Colorado Symphony Orchestra is not the only orchestra in Denver that needs assistance. And it certainly is not the only arts organization that needs assistance. All of the community orchestras in the metropolitan area need financial assistance, and some of them need it very badly. In the sidebar of this blog site, on the left-hand side of the screen, I have listed links to several arts organizations. Take a look, and discover how many community orchestras there are in the Denver metropolitan area. The Colorado Symphony, the Colorado Springs Philharmonic, and the Boulder Philharmonic are the only professional orchestras (and they need help as well). The other orchestras are all community orchestras. I would hope that they are paying attention to the innovative way in which the Colorado Symphony is going about its fund-raising this week. There is much to learn. However the community orchestras face some unique problems.
All of the community orchestras are facing one crucial issue which is affecting their fund raising: many do not know that they exist. And of course this is not helped by a local music reviewer who proclaimed the fact that there is no alternative to the Colorado Symphony or the Boulder Philharmonic for orchestral music. That comment appeared in the Denver Post on Sunday, June 8, of last year when Kyle MacMillan wrote a supposedly informed article about the classical music scene in Denver. All of the community orchestras in the metro area should have responded loudly to that statement. Their silence confirms to many, except for those who regularly attend their own “community” orchestra, that the community orchestras need to put out the word of their existence with great vigor. These orchestras must learn to pull together to help each other. Remember, it’s just like crossing the street; there is safety in numbers. In 2007, when I was involved in orchestral administration, the Denver Foundation invited the executive directors of the community orchestras to a meeting at the Foundation office. The Foundation wisely thought community orchestras would be well served by creating a new organization comprised of all the orchestras in the Denver metro area. Thankfully, this happened and the resultant organization became known as the Denver Metropolitan Community Orchestra Association. It was a fantastic idea which unfortunately, was approached with great caution by some of the orchestras, or at least so it seemed at the time. I think part of the problem was that these orchestras thought that they were in a state of competition with the other community orchestras. Nothing could be further from the truth. For example, the people who attend the concerts given by the Aurora Symphony Orchestra would be unlikely to attend the concerts given by the Jefferson Symphony. And aren’t all of the orchestras involved in the same art of music? But I must say that these orchestras were helping each other, albeit in very small ways. It always seemed to me, and keep in mind that I am no longer in orchestral administration, that these orchestras could join together in a giant fund-raising effort. Of course, there would be all kinds of logistical details to be worked out, such as, how do you divvy up the money obtained by the fund-raising. Nonetheless, it would be worth the effort because it would draw attention to these community orchestras whose concerts go totally un-attended by some of the funding agencies in town. As a matter of fact, a former board member of a leading funding organization whom I met at a community orchestra concert, told me that this particular community orchestra was one of the best-kept secrets in Denver.
There are so many ways for these community orchestras to think “outside the box.” How does one think outside the box? A trite example might be, and mind you, I am not proselytizing this, but nonetheless a trite example: remember in your youth when you considered opening a lemonade stand on the corner? Even then, I’ll bet that you understood you would not make much money charging a nickel for a glass of lemonade. But thinking outside the box would be this: you give away the lemonade for free, and then charge five dollars for a hand of blackjack. I still think that the DMCOA would be a fantastic organization that wouldn’t even have to be limited to just orchestras. Why not invite some of the choral groups in town to join? Of course, then the pedants in the group would insist that the name be changed but it would probably be worth it. Please realize that while I say all of this, I am no longer in orchestral administration, and therefore out of touch. It could be that this is going on as I speak. But I must say, that all of the arts organizations in the Denver metro area should band together for certain projects, perhaps for a yearly fund-raising event. And it would have to be done in a very serious manner, for these are very serious times. When I say serious manner, I am not speaking of a fund-raising silent auction, or a fund-raising dinner. I am speaking of a well thought out major event. It would have to be something that draws strong attention to every organization partaking in the event. For example, perhaps through strong leadership, the DMCOA could organize a new orchestra comprised of the constituent members of the DMCOA, and perhaps even a choir, and put on a yearly fund-raising concert of some magnitude which would be guaranteed to draw a large audience. An oratorio? A Schubert Mass? A Gouvy cantata? The imagination must prevail in order to attract attention to the musical arts.
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